Microsoft hires 10,000 people to help improve employee retention

Microsoft has hired 10,200 people to work on a new human resources platform that will help the company better understand the needs of employees across its business, according to an internal memo. 

The hiring comes as Microsoft continues to overhaul its HR team, and as the company prepares to open a new research lab and a new data center in Palo Alto, California, in the coming months. 

“Microsoft has always been about being open and honest with our customers and stakeholders about our efforts, but we also want to ensure that we are also accountable to them,” Microsoft CTO Alex Kipman wrote in the memo, which was obtained by Business Insider. 

Microsoft is looking to “enhance how we can better understand and communicate with our employees,” he said, and it will use its existing “human resources analytics team” and its “leadership team” to work with employees on a “more holistic understanding of what is important to them, how they can get more done, and what they can be doing to support their team members.” 

The memo also details a number of internal initiatives, including hiring an additional 1,200 employees to work directly with employees and help them “create, manage, and prioritize work” that is critical to “their success.” 

Microsoft has not yet announced a workforce size or salary cap for the new HR platform.

The hiring of the 10,100 people was a part of the company’s efforts to get the team more aligned with its goals, the memo said. 

Earlier this year, Microsoft launched a new team called Microsoft Human Resources, and the company also recently hired two new leaders in its HR department, including senior vice president for HR, Andrew P. Barrow.